Tribal Colleges and Universities in an Era of Dynamic Development

Not What Every Other Girl Wants: American Indian Women's Educational Aspirations

“…These schools American Indian Women's Educational Aspirations 293 are based on curriculum derived from ''community values, beliefs, traditions, and language.'' 23 They empower AIs, develop leadership skills, offer culturally relevant curriculum taught by AIs, address student persistence problems, provide training for job skills needed on reservations, and preserve culture and history. 24 Indeed, AIs who attend a tribal college are nearly four times as likely to graduate from a 4-year institution as those who enter as freshmen.…”

A historical overview of institutional types

“…Tribal education dates back hundreds of years when every member of the Native American community served as an educator sharing knowledge and tribal traditions (Pavel et al., 2001). The colonization of the United States resulted in a dramatic shift from these native systems of education when the federal government took control of tribal education, forcing Indigenous people to assimilate to European traditions and taking away their freedom to educate their communities (Pavel et al., 2001; Stull et al., 2015). Formally defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965, Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) are chartered by their respective Indian tribes through the sovereign authority of the tribes or by the federal government (Higher Education Act, 1965).…”

Table of Contents

“…TCUs have a unique institutional capacity for promoting tribal students' academic success, transfer, and four-year degree completion (AIHEC, 1999(AIHEC, , 2000(AIHEC, , 2001Benham and Stein, 2003;Cunningham, McSwain, and Keselman, 2007;Gonzalez, 2008;Pavel, Inglebret, and Banks, 2001;Stein, 1992Stein, , 1999. TCUs play a critical role in tribal workforce development and, because of their location on reservations in areas far removed from other college opportunities, provide postsecondary access to many students who would otherwise not be able to attend.…”